Day 24

The Breakfast Menu:

• 1 whole wheat bagel
• 1 oz. low-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 banana

My bagel had a little bit more cream cheese on it than that, but I dropped it face down and half of it stuck to the floor :(

The First Snack:

• 1/2 oz. raisins
• chicken salad

The chicken salad was delicious!! It was just 2 oz. of chicken breast (cut up and cooked), 1 T. light mayo, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, some finely chopped celery and red onion, light salt and pepper. With the mustard, the salt wasn't necessary. Very yummy!!

The Lunch Menu:

• 1/2 a whole wheat pita
• 1/4 cup homemade hummus
• 5 carrots
• 2 tsp. natural peanut butter

I felt like the meals and snacks were switched today. The chicken salad makes more sense as a lunch, and this makes more sense as a snack. But hey - it kept my stomach happy all day, so whatever. I didn't realize I was out of cumin, so I ended up using taco seasoning in the hummus. I was afraid that would be weird, but it was pretty good. Natural peanut butter is really starting to grow on me. :)

The Second Snack:

• 2 cups chopped romaine
• 2 T. light Italian dressing 

Boring. I didn't take a picture.

The Dinner menu:

• beef kabobs!

The photo was pre-grill. Dinner was actually supposed to be beef-only kabobs, but what fun is that? We were also supposed to have parsley red potatoes and gingered carrots. I decided to pre-cook the potatoes a bit and add them to the kabobs (kebabs?). I also decided to skip the carrots and use up some veggies that have been in the refrigerator for awhile.

The marinade was only okay. There are plenty of others that I would prefer. And I don't know why I thought a 2" chunk of onion would taste good.

How did these go over?

Quite well!!

The Third Snack:

• baked cinnamon pears
• 2 oz. low-fat cheddar cheese

I love how this program turns fruits into desserts! These pears were quite delicious. I was supposed to have swiss cheese, but I didn't want swiss on my pears, and I didn't want it plain, so I swapped it for cheddar.

Everyone was very happy with the menu today, which makes me happy :)

Oh, weighed in this morning. I had a not-so-great diet week last week, so I was pleased to see I was still down a pound from last weigh-in. Slow progress is better than no progress.
 
 
 

Day 23

We were out running around much of the day today, but I planned ahead and packed our food for the first half of the day. Today's menu worked well for that sort of thing. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera, so I only have pictures of the second half of the day.

The Breakfast Menu:

• 6 oz. yogurt
• 2 T. low-fat granola
• 15 grapes

Pretty basic. Bits and pieces. I like those meals. Lots of variety.

The First Snack:

• 1 oz. roasted turkey breast with 1 T. low-fat cream cheese
• .5 oz raisins

Cream cheese on deli meat has always seemed odd to me, but it's delicious! And a whole tablespoon?! How generous!

The Lunch Menu:

• 5 baby carrots 
• PBJ with whole wheat bread, strawberry jam, and low-fat peanut butter

We were at the playground. I just tossed all the parts into a cooler on the way out the door, so I was making the sandwiches at the playground. I got distracted and absent-mindedly made myself a whole sandwich instead of the half I was supposed to have. Oops.

The Second Snack:

• 10 baby carrots 
• 2 oatmeal cookies 

Not much to say about this. These oatmeal cookies are yummy! I used only wheat flour in them, and they are just delicious.

The Dinner Menu:

•   3.5 oz chicken with soy sauce
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 1/2 cup steamed broccoli with butter spray

Ok, this was a first. So far in my life, I have had broccoli a grand total of two times. Both times it was chopped up into miniscule bits in an omelet. This is the first time I've ever just eaten broccoli. And you know, I can honestly say I almost enjoyed it! It's not the first vegetable I would run out and grab, but I will definitely add it into our veggie rotation.

The Third Snack:

• half a baked apple
• 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla ice cream

We were in a hurry with this. My husband had to leave for work, so the apples didn't get to bake the whole time. They were still delicious. Not overly stuffed, not overly sweet. Just right. Really enjoyed this.

I am thoroughly enjoying the ability to swap meals out for things I know we will enjoy, while still keeping our meals balanced over the day.

When I joined the Biggest Loser Club website, I got 3 free Biggest Loser books. They came today. Two of them I'll probably read once and pass on to someone else, but the third one is one that will end up dog-eared and ratty. The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook is FULL of really great recipes! I'm excited to try so many of them I don't know where to start! 

One quick thing that stuck out in my mind is their idea of desserts... the desserts are mostly centered around fresh fruit, but pepping it up with just a little something special. For example, a sliced banana drizzled with just a little sugar-free caramel. Or a bowl of strawberries drizzled with a little sugar-free chocolate syrup. I don't know why I've never thought of that before. I'm anxious to try some of these out and will, of course, post about them when I do :)

Oh ... we also took a family walk today. It was about a mile and a half. It didn't do much for my heart rate, but it's gotta be better than sitting on the couch.

Day 22

Ok, our food/eating events are over for awhile. I ate WAY too much at our family picnic and spent much of today suffering for it. It is very interesting how quickly our bodies have gotten used to eating healthier foods. We are used to lean meats, whole grains, and fresh fruits & veggies. Bombarding our bodies with picnic foods (burgers, salads, cheeses, rich desserts) was really hard to recover from. But I am back. I am re-motivated. I am focused. Here we go again. Sooner or later, it'll stick... 

I forgot to take any pictures today :(

The Breakfast Menu:

• omelet (egg whites, broccoli, red onion, garlic, spinach)
• 1 slice oatmeal toast
• 1/2 pear
• Special K cereal bar

I am fascinated by how different foods aren't fazing me nearly the way they used to. Broccoli, spinach, AND scrambled egg whites - all in one dish?? But I didn't even think twice about it this time. Good breakfast.

The First Snack:

We don't get home from church until nearly 1:00. I knew our breakfast wasn't going to stick with us that long, so I planned ahead and packed our snack.

• 11 dry roasted almonds
• 1/2 T. dark chocolate chips
• 1 T. raisins
• 15 grapes

The first 3 ingredients made a tasty little trail mix. It wasn't a large amount, but it was just enough to take the edge off our hunger until we could get home for lunch. The kids enjoyed each getting their own little bits in their own cardboard nacho chip trays :)

The Lunch Menu:

• sweet & spicy pork loin 
• small baked potato
• whole grain rice with tomatoes, garlic, and spinach
• thin slice oatmeal bread
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

This meal was a little heavy on the carbs/grains. We were supposed to have cooked cabbage, but by the time we got home, we didn't want to wait. We just grabbed the food out of the crockpots and dug in. VERY good pork recipe! We'll definitely be keeping that one.

Sweet & Spicy Pork

1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 lb. pork loin
1 tsp. olive oil
2 T. honey
1/2 T. hot sauce
1 T. minced garlic

Spray pork loin with cooking spray. Combine all dry ingredients. Rub onto pork. Spray skillet. Heat over medium-high heat. Sear pork loin for 1 minute on each side. Remove from skillet. Combine olive oil, honey, hot sauce, and minced garlic. Brush onto all sides of pork loin. Place pork in crockpot. Cover. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve with juices.

The Second Snack:

• 10 baby carrots
• 1 oz. low-fat cream cheese

I really like cream cheese, but a whole ounce of it is more than I needed for only 10 carrots. But I managed ;-)

The Dinner Menu:

This was odd. This is the actual dinner menu that was planned by the website. #3 said to me, "Mama, why did you plan all junk food for dinner?"

• 20 peanuts
• 5 baby carrots
• 3/4 oz. pretzels
• 1 oatmeal cookie

See what I mean? Everyone loved it, of course.

The Third Snack:

was supposed  to be fruit and yogurt, but it ended up being a couple more cookies instead ..... maybe tomorrow will be fewer grains....

Day 17

Grr. I am really struggling here. I need to make more of an effort to STAY HOME. Which is really hard to do when hubby is working night shift. I get tired of telling the kids to keep quiet so he can sleep, so I've been taking them out. And I ended up taking an unplanned trip about an hour and a half from here for a birthday gift ... right over dinnertime. Grr.

The Breakfast Menu:

• omelet (onions, green peppers, mushrooms, egg beaters)
• whole wheat english muffin
• pineapple rings

I've never eaten just plain pineapple before. I didn't think I would like them, but they weren't bad. I will eat them again. I paid an arm and a leg for the english muffins. I'm not sure I would do that again. I like them just fine, but when I can pay $1.19 for a pack of white ones, it REALLY bothers me to pay $4.29 for a pack of wheat ones. Why can't healthy food be less expensive?? It's no wonder so much of our nation is so fat.

Snack #1:

• banana
• 1/2 wedge Laughing Cow light garlic & herb cheese on 1 slice of turkey

This was split up. I had the banana while we were out running around this morning, and I had the turkey while I was making my lunch. DeLICIous cheese!!

The Lunch Menu:

• roast beef sandwich with mustard, onions, and the other half of the garlic cheese wedge
• 2 cups of popcorn (odd)
• tomato salad (with yellow peppers, celery, balsamic vinegar, oregano, lemon juice, and cumin)
• 10 almonds

That was a really bizarre tomato salad. I think I've managed to be pretty open-minded about new flavors this time around, but I just couldn't get into this one. I ate half of it and tossed the rest. It was REALLY strange.

Snack #2:

It was supposed to be a creamy cucumber salad, but we were out of the house for riding lessons & the unplanned looooong trip, so I missed it.

The Dinner Menu:

•  This is where it fell apart. I did Burger King drive through, and didn't even bother trying to keep it healthy. Shame on me. :(
• I had #1 with me, and I got pizza drive through for her. She couldn't eat it all, so I ate her last piece. More shame on me :(
• Hubby held dinner for us. I didn't have the heart to tell him we'd already eaten, because he put off his dinner until 8pm, waiting for us. I ate dinner with him. What is WRONG with me?

Snack #3:

Supposed to be a baked cinnamon pear and some ice cream. At this point, I didn't even bother with the pear, but I did have the ice cream.

My brain is NOT in the right place. I am telling myself that at least I didn't pig out the first half of the day in addition to the second half. But that's no excuse. I really need to focus here.... Help!!

Day 16

I took the plunge and joined the Biggest Loser Club website. I'm glad I did. It's the same concept as the book, but I can swap stuff out very easily. If the menu calls for berries (I can't eat berries anymore apparently), I can click on berries and it will give me tons of comparable choices. That makes it super easy for me to make sure that my substitutions don't mess up the balance of my diet. It also gives me lots of options for more variety. I especially like that this diet plan allows for THREE snacks! :)

So I planned out today and tomorrow and got the groceries I will need ($50). Today went well, and it's more encouraging to know that I can pick and choose things I know we'll like (with a new item thrown in here and there) and that we can actually afford.

This is the beginning of a new phase of the diet, but I'll continue counting. I started out this morning at 166.6 pounds. Still down a bit from where I started 2 weeks ago, and very good evidence that I need to stay focused!

The Breakfast Menu:

• Banana Nut Oatmeal
• Yogurt
• Apple

We've had this oatmeal once before. I'm not a big fan of oatmeal (texture issues), but the flavor was good ... after I added a pack of Splenda. Hubby just confessed to me a few minutes ago that he didn't like it. I told him to add sugar next time and he seemed more interested.

Snack #1:

• 6 oz. V8 smoothie
• cheese stick

Not much to comment on here. I got the V8 on clearance. It was REALLY thick, and maybe even a little sludgy. But it had fruits and veggies in it, and it was a yummy berry flavor.

The Lunch Menu:

• We were away from home. I was supposed to have a chicken salad and some Wheat Thins. We went through Wendy's where I got a half a chicken caesar salad with fat free french dressing. It was tiny, but that's ok. I had some Wheat Thins when I got home. 

 Snack #2:

• 10 baby carrots
• 2 tsp. natural peanut butter

I ate this while I was cooking dinner. I was in a bit of a rush, so I don't much remember it :)

The Dinner Menu:

• 1.5 oz. seared sirloin in wine sauce
• 2.5 oz. roasted basil potatoes
• green beans with basil, celery, and onions

This was a VERY enjoyable meal! We've really been missing red meat and potatoes, and we were lucky enough to get BOTH in one day!! Pitiful amounts, but that's ok. That's an acceptable trade-off. All very good food.

Snack #3:

• Apple compote
• 1 cup 1% milk

This was a simple dessert. Just chunked apples simmered in lemon juice, apple juice, and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Hubby was bored with it, so he had a small scoop of ice cream with his, but I was perfectly happy with mine.


Hubby is back to night shift (for the time being), so making his meals is going to be complicated. I guess we'll play it by ear...

Day 15 - Dinner, Exercise, & Snack

Snack: Grabbed a quick handful of low-fat granola on my way out the door for a short walk.

Exercise: It wasn't a long walk. I had 4 kids with me (including one in a stroller) and the rain clouds were coming in. Hubby passed us on the road on his way home from work, so we hopped in the car to get back home. Only walked about 1/2 mile total. And not a very aggressive pace. :-\

Dinner:

• Turkey burgers (with garlic, oregano, and a sprinkling of feta cheese) on sprouted bread with spinach leaves and tomatoes
• Sweet potato fries
• carrots
• no sugar added pear half (fresh would have been better, but we're pretty much out of fresh produce)

I am browsing through this book, jotting down the meal and snack ideas that we've enjoyed so far, and upcoming ones that look good. I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around how to put those components together into good well-balanced days. Wouldn't it be neat if there was a book out there that did that for me? ahem....

I am contemplating getting a biggestloserclub.com membership. It's only $39 for 3 months (introductory price), and I would get 3 free Biggest Loser reference/cookbooks with it. It's basically the same idea as this book, but if we come across something that we don't want, I can just substitute it for something else with one mouse click. I think I'll go do that right now and check it out...

Day 15 - Lunch

Nothing special today. I'm just scrounging in the fridge trying to come up with well-rounded meals. This was 2 slices of low-fat roasted deli turkey rolled up with some baby spinach, an apple (with peanut/tofu spread), and some carrots sticks (with homemade hummus).  I got partway through both the dips and realized they were 2 weeks old, so I didn't finish them. My carrot was very bitter, but I ate it. I liked the turkey/spinach! Couldn't even tell the spinach was in there, and it's a nice nutritional boost.

Planning ahead for dinner ... I have some ground turkey thawed out, so I'm thinking turkey burgers (out of buns though ... maybe 12 grain bread or toast?) and there's a sweet potato in the cupboard, so maybe a small batch of baked sweet potato fries? A glass of milk, and some steamed carrots? Maybe?

Also planning on taking the kids for a walk this evening while hubby is sleeping in preparation for night shift.

Day 15 - Breakfast

The Menu:

--bagel
--cheese stick
--fat free yogurt

My format is changing a little bit. Because I'm not following the book strictly, I am going to be skipping the My Response/His Response part, unless I decide to branch out and try something new (which I hope to do from time to time).

I weighed myself this morning. I went in the wrong direction last week. It wasn't a very good week. There's no excuse for it. I was weak. Don't get me wrong - I didn't pig out or anything, but I wasn't as careful about my food choices as I should have been. I need to focus. I need to remember to blog, no matter how busy I am. That keeps me accountable.

I'm going to have to re-read the (very long) intro to this book, because they lay it out very clearly about what components each meal should have, and how much.

This week's goals:  do at least 1 mile on the treadmill every day (either walking or jogging). Get into the habit of having a protein of some sort, and a fruit/veggie with EVERY meal and snack. I'll continue the Breakfast/Snack/Lunch/Snack/Dinner pattern, because that seemed to keep me from getting too hungry at any point during the day. Seems like when I break that pattern, I end up eating too much dinner.

Running late for my day. Will come up with a fabulous lunch ... and maybe even photos ;-)

Whoops

Tomorrow. I'll be back, focused, tomorrow. I haven't totally derailed. I'm still working fruits and veggies in as much as possible, lots of proteins and smaller portions.

I am not going to be able to afford following the book to the letter all the way through, but I will continue to use it as a framework.

Maybe we will start with an omelet for breakfast tomorrow. I wish I could eat berries :(

Day 9 - Snack & Dinner

The Snack:


-1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
-1 apple

Very good.


The Dinner Menu:

Sorry for the photo of my half-eaten food. I keep forgetting to take pictures...

-5 oz. baked salmon with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of garlic salt
-1 cup spaghetti squash with just a bit of meat sauce on it
-1 cup green beans with 1 T. overly toasted almonds
-water
My Response:

new to me foods: spaghetti squash


Yum! I was pleasantly surprised by the spaghetti squash. I would definitely have it again. #4 ate his all up! None of the other kids did though.

His Response:


He enjoyed it and would also eat it again.



We are headed out for a little ice cream snack. I didn't have my morning snack, so I'll have just a baby cup of frozen yogurt - no cone. I can feel good about that.

Day 9 - Lunch

The Snack:

missed it

The Lunch Menu:

-spicy homemade tomato soup
-taco-flavored turkey burger with salsa and low-fat cheddar on a whole-grain English muffin

My Response:

new to me foods: none


We used up the oddball bread products today. Some of us had our burgers on English muffins, some flatbreads, and some whole wheat tortillas. The soup was great! I'll blend it a little longer next time though. It was grainy.


His Response:

He really enjoyed it. Had a second bowl of soup, even. :)


Got groceries for the next 2 days. $49. Over the next couple days, I'm going to go back through the past week and cobble together a menu for a day or two that is made up of all the recipes that we missed but that I had gotten the ingredients for. That should help the grocery bill for the next day or two. I will have to restock some of our kid-friendly foods though.

Day 9 - Breakfast & Workout

My husband's work schedule has become a true nightmare. He is off the hook for following this diet by-the-letter. I get him these foods when I can, but it's not happening for every meal and every snack.

The Breakfast Menu:

• 1 banana
• 1 cup whole grain high-fiber cereal (Oatmeal Squares)
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1 low-fat mozzarella cheese stick

My Response:


New to me foods: none. This is a favorite breakfast.


The Workout: 10 minutes on the treadmill (2.0 incline, 3.7 mph), followed by 5 thigh exercises from hell and 5 stretches. It's been a long time since I felt so poorly after a workout. It's been several hours and my legs still aren't working right.

Day 8 - The Whole Day

Weigh-in day! I'm not really sure what happened here, but I apparently lost 10 pounds the first week. I don't look like it. I don't feel like it. My clothes don't fit any differently. So I decided my scale was defective. We bought a new digital one today, and interestingly enough, it shows the same weight that the old one did. So I must have had a bad day last week when it showed 175. I was 165 this morning.

Schedule- and food-wise, it was a weird day. I slept late and had to be somewhere by 10:30. I missed breakfast.

Morning snack was an apple and 2 low-fat string cheese sticks. I wolfed one of those down while I was making lunch.

Lunch was supposed to be Pesto Pizzettas made with a polenta crust. Our grocery stores apparently don't carry polenta anymore, so I had to improvise. I ended up making the same pizza recipe, but used whole grain English muffins as the crust.

The pizzas were a little different. Definitely more "gourmet" than we are used to, but it wasn't too bad.

• English muffin crust
• 1 1/2 T. tomato sauce
• sprinkle of Italian seasoning and garlic salt
• sliced artichoke hearts
• red pepper strips
• pinch of low-fat mozzarella cheese

We were so desperately starving that I didn't even stop to take a picture. This is exactly why we are supposed to be eating 5 times a day - so we never reach the point of desperate starvation. Not that we TRULY ever reach that point anyway, but you know ...

Afternoon snack was supposed to be a turkey sandwich. Instead, I had my other string cheese and apple from morning snack.

Dinner was tilapia, broiled Roma tomatoes sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and pepper, and milk.

Tilapia was new to me. I really enjoy salmon, but I wasn't sure how I would like the tilapia. I made a seasoned garlic butter to brush on it. It was pretty good. It was a mushier texture than the salmon, so I only had a small piece, and I don't know that I would go out of my way to have it again, but if someone served it to me, I would politely eat it.  The tomatoes were okay but slightly undercooked. I also added about 1/3 cup brown rice, because my plate looked pathetic without it. :)

Later in the evening, I ate the turkey sandwich that I was supposed to have for my afternoon snack. It was on 7-grain sprouted bread. It was fine. Odd to have a whole sandwich for a snack, but after our tiny dinner, I was grateful for it :)


I completely failed to exercise.

Day 7 - Sunday - Lunch & Dinner

The Lunch Menu:

-Thai curry chicken with lentils
-1/2 cup roasted garlic whole grain blend (brown rice, bulgur, and "other" whole grains)
-1/2 cup carrots
-8 oz. water

We were supposed to have another stinkin' salad instead of carrots, but we're both REALLY tired of salad.

My Response:

new to me foods: Thai food in general

This had onions, tomatoes, garlic, coconut milk, fish sauce, and lentils in it. It was good!

His Response:

He liked it.

The Kids' Response:

They ate the rice, and they had carrots and chicken, but not the Thai lentil sauce.

The Dinner Menu:

You'll love this. My stomach was so queasy, that the thought of putting any real food into it literally made me gag, much less oddball foods. I had a banana. Then I had 4 marshmallows and about a cup of frozen yogurt. Calorie-wise, my day was just fine. Balanced diet wise? Not so much. Hoping to feel better tomorrow.... Tomorrow is weigh-in day. I'm not feeling optimistic about it. 1500 calories is a lot of calories for a diet day.

Day 7 - Sunday - Breakfast, Workout, and Snack

The Breakfast Menu:


-bagel with 2 T. light cream cheese
-1/4 cup scrambled egg beaters
-banana smoothie

My Response:

New to me foods: none


We were supposed to have lox on our bagels, but I have to draw the line somewhere :)  I made eggs instead of lox. We were also supposed to have fresh blueberries, but we're both getting tired of berries, so we didn't eat them. As it turns out, it's just as well. Somehow, we completely forgot that the last time I got on a berry kick (eating berry smoothies for breakfast every day for almost 2 weeks), I had a most unpleasant allergic reaction to them. We've been eating berries nearly every day this week. I spent much of this afternoon suffering the repercussions of having forgotten about that allergy. :(  Sick stomach and hives. Blech.

Breakfast was good. I would eat a bagel with cream cheese every day if I could. And the smoothie was yummy. (6 oz vanilla Greek yogurt, 1/2 a frozen banana, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla - blend.)

The smoothie was technically supposed to be our morning snack. We go to church an hour from home, so we weren't going to be home for a snack. And breakfast wouldn't have gotten us through to lunch without the smoothie, so I combined the two.

His Response:

New to him foods: none

He didn't have the cream cheese. Good breakfast.

The Workout: Sunday is rest day (according to me AND according to the book)  :)

Day 6 - Saturday - Snack & Dinner

The Snack:

sliced apple with peanut butter


Yummy!


The Dinner Menu:

-5 oz. broiled salmon with a drizzle of sesame oil and a drizzle of soy sauce
-3/4 cup brown rice
-romaine and baby spinach with a bit of light Italian dressing
-1 cup fresh berries with 1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt and 1 T. chopped pecans
-water

My Response:

new to me foods: pecans


Yum! This has been a very encouraging food day. I've enjoyed pretty much all of it. I've become very fond of salmon. It's so easy to make, and it's tasty. It's not cheap, but sometimes you've got to splurge :)

Rice and salad were ordinary. The berry yogurt mix was good. Nuts in yogurt is weird, but it wasn't a lot of it, so it was no big deal. The berries were very very cold, and they hurt my teeth, so I'll probably leave them out at room temperature next time.

His Response:


He enjoyed it all :)

The Kids' Response:

They refuse to eat salmon. They had ham with their rice, and they ate up a bunch of leftover cantaloupe and honeydew. A nice compromise.

Day 6 - Saturday - Snack & Lunch

The Snack:

-low fat string cheese
-1 cup grape tomatoes

I don't much care for eating tomatoes by themselves. I put them on the counter while I was unloading the dishwasher. Every time I put something away that was near them, I grabbed one and popped it in my mouth. They were gone before I knew it :)

The Lunch Menu:

-sausage lentil stew
-6 wheat saltines

We were supposed to have romaine lettuce instead of saltines, but I'm quickly approaching the lettuced-out stage. Hoping to ward that off before it happens.

My Response:

new to me foods: lentils



This was made with Italian herb chicken sausage, green peppers, onions, garlic, chicken broth, tomatoes, and lentils. It was very good!

His Response:

He liked it!

The Kids' Response:

They each tried one bite, but none of them liked it.  3 of them had ramen and one had a PBJ sandwich.

Got groceries for the next 2 days. $36. It looks like I'll end up averaging about $100 a week, which is almost what we were paying for "normal" food. The kitchen is very well stocked with kid-friendly foods, so I haven't had to buy any groceries just for them. Sooner or later that stuff's going to run out, which will increase the grocery bill slightly. But so far, it's not as expensive as I feared (with the exception of that first start-up trip)

Day 6 - Saturday- Breakfast & Workout

Hubby had to work, so even though it is Saturday, we were up at 5 for breakfast.

The Breakfast Menu:

I forgot to take a picture again, but here is the picture from the cookbook.

-omelet (broccoli, onions, carrots, queso laughing cow light cheese, 2 T. refrained beans in 1/2 cup egg beaters)
-1/2 cup sliced strawberries
-8 oz. milk
-8 oz. water

My Response:

New to me foods: broccoli, refried beams, laughing cow cheese

The first bite or so were strange, but it was pretty good. I would eat it again.

His Response:

New to him foods: laughing cow cheese

He liked this!

The Workout: 30 minutes on the elliptical (1350 reps, burned 413 calories!), followed by 5 mobility exercises. A lady is coming this morning to buy the elliptical, so I'll be back to the treadmill next week. #3 found the key in the basket of ponytail holders. Obviously. Why didn't I think to look there?

I missed the last two days' workouts, but even as of last evening, I was still feeling the after-effects of the planks I did three days ago. Unfortunately, the mobility exercises are on a 3-day cycle, which means I got to do them again today. ugh. But I did them. I am done, and it feels great to have the day's exercise done.

I had a great breakfast, a great workout, and I am off to a great start - looking forward to the rest of the day's menu! :)

Day 5 - Friday

Today was trial by fire day. A girl can only stand so much temptation. :(    I got up at 5 and made breakfast, which was a strawberry/granola/yogurt parfait, 2 strips of bacon, and 1/4 cup scrambled egg beaters.

Then we were out yard saling all day. Seriously, 7 hours of yard saling. But I planned ahead and packed my morning snack and lunch.

Snack was 1/2 cup ricotta cheese with a handful of slivered almonds, a chopped pair, and a pack of Splenda. It sounds awful, but it was actually really good! By the time it was gone, I was sad to see the bottom of my bowl :(

Took the kids to Best Way and I snuck my salad in and ate it. Anyone who knows me knows that this is a huge accomplishment. I didn't even sneak a pepperoni!  My salad was 3 cups of romaine, some cucumber, green peppers, grape tomatoes, feta, and deli ham, with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. It was truly enjoyable. I wasn't even tempted by the pizza.

Stopped back home for about 45 minutes, before heading out to pick up the car at the garage, and go straight from there to pick up #1 from camp. Of course that was from 4:15-7, right over dinnertime. I was only home for 45 minutes, so I didn't have time to cook anything for dinner. We ended up going to Wendy's. But again ... I held out. I didn't get the bacon cheeseburger. I got a grilled chicken caesar salad with fat free French dressing and a cup of water. Well done!

Picked up #1 from camp and decided to treat the kids to the movies. Ice Age 4. This was the kiss of death. Two temptations I can defeat. Movie theatre popcorn, I cannot. Apparently. But I got a small. That's gotta count for something, right??

And not being home at all, I didn't even get any exercise in. UGH!  Back on track tomorrow!

Day 4 - Thursday - Addendum

The Workout:

It was supposed to be a 26 minute cardio workout, followed by 10 minutes of mobility exercises. We took a family walk instead. Just under 2 miles. Took us almost an hour.

The Snack:

Because I missed breakfast, which was oatmeal, banana, and yogurt, we had pudding for dessert. :)

Minor slippage. Back on schedule tomorrow, starting at 5am.

Day 4 - Thursday - Snack & Dinner

The Snack:


1 cup of steamed edamame

I swear I've seen edamame at the grocery store before, but apparently it wasn't the one in mine town. I bought lima beans instead. I know that's not even close to the same thing, but bear with me....

I wasn't at all hungry at snack time, so I just saved this and added it to our dinner plates. I know that defeats the purpose of eating 5 smaller meals throughout the day, but I couldn't justify eating an entire cup of lima beans for a snack when I wasn't hungry.


The Dinner Menu:

 -2 portabello pizzas (with mozzarella and Italian chicken sausage)
-1 cup of previously mentioned lima beans
-1/2 cup of grapes
-water

My Response:

new to me foods: the mushroom

Well, I'm glad that's over. What you see on my plate is half of what I was supposed to eat. It wasn't as offensive as I expected. But the smell of the mushroom was overwhelming. I was grateful for the sausage, because the texture of the sausage was almost indistinguishable from the texture of the mushroom. The flavor was pretty good. I got about halfway through it and just couldn't eat anymore of the mushroom though. So I finished the topping on this one, and I ate the toppings off the second one that I was supposed to eat.

Very grateful for the limas. If I had eaten them earlier, this would have been a very sparse dinner :(

His Response:

He ate both of his, but he also left about half the mushrooms behind. We won't be eating this again.

The Kids' Response:

They had their pizza on bagels. They loved the grapes but refused to eat the limas. :(  I even tried to bribe them with a cheese stick if they ate their limas. That wasn't even enough.


Still nursing sore muscles from yesterday's planks, but must do my workout shortly....

Day 4 - Thursday - Snack & Lunch

The Snack:

-peanutty dip with jicama slices


I combined today's snack with my lunch and just ate it all at the same time. The dip was good! The kids even ate it with apple slices. It was 9 oz. of silken tofu, 1/3 cup natural peanut butter, 4 tsp. honey, and 2 tsp. lime juice in the blender. Very creamy.

The Lunch Menu:

-3 oz. sauteed chicken, a handful of chopped scallions, a pinch of low-fat cheddar, and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette, all on a whole wheat tortilla
-8 oz. appletini crystal light

My Response:

new to me foods: none


Very good. Enjoyed the whole meal and wished for a second tortilla :)


His Response:

No idea what he's eating for lunch today...


The Kids' Response:

They had leftovers. But I did get them all to eat the peanutty dip.


Got groceries for the next 2 days. $29. I'm making a few adaptations and substitutions to use up what I've already bought this week, rather than buying more.

Day 4 - Thursday - Breakfast & Workout

I overslept this morning. Had somewhere I needed to be and completely missed breakfast AND the workout. I'll do the workout later this afternoon or this evening...

Day 3 - Wednesday - Snack & Dinner

The Snack:

sliced apple with peanut butter


Yummy!


The Dinner Menu:

 

I forgot to take a picture, so I took a picture of the picture that was in the cookbook. I cheated.

-5 oz. sauteed chicken
-Asian salad with Asian dressing
-3/4 cup fat-free frozen yogurt
-water
My Response:

new to me foods: the entire Asian dressing!

I gotta say - I was REALLY unsure about that salad. Bizarro. Red and green cabbage, carrots, red peppers, cilantro. That part was fine. But the dressing! It had a gazillion ingredients in it, and a third of them I'd never heard of.  Silken tofu, miso paste, pickled ginger, rice wine vinegar. Most of our Whole Foods shopping list went into this dressing. And it was weird. It wasn't gross or offensive, but it was quite unlike anything I have ever tasted before.

Side note:  who eats frozen yogurt WITH their dinner?? We had ours immediately after dinner. It was a nice treat. It made me smile to see that this cookbook slips in nice desserts now and again, to keep us from getting discouraged.


His Response:

He added some potatoes to his plate, but his opinion of the salad was the same as mine. We ate it. We won't make it again. But if someone puts it in front of us at their home, we'd politely eat it.

The Kids' Response:

They had chicken and fried potatoes.

Day 3 - Wednesday - Snack & Lunch

The Snack:

-blueberry smoothie (6 oz. Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla)


This was good! Everyone liked it. I was very surprised at how thick it was. As in - chew it up thick. Might add more milk next time, but it was delicious. Not overly sweet. Just right.

The Lunch Menu:

-turkey burger with Swiss cheese, romaine, tomato, red onion, and ketchup - on 7-grain sprouted bread
-2 wedges of cantaloupe
-8 oz. water

My Response:

new to me foods: none


Very good. I don't usually have lettuce on my burger, but it was just fine. Thoroughly enjoyed this meal. Very refreshing after forcing my way through some of my other meals :)


His Response:

I mixed taco seasoning into his before I cooked it. I've done that before, because I know he prefers that to a plain turkey burger. He enjoyed it.

The Kids' Response:

#'s 2 and 3 got turkey tacos, at their request. #4 had a taco-flavored turkey burger on 100% whole wheat bread. He ate almost all of it. All of them enjoyed their cantaloupe.

It was a very successful snack AND meal! That makes Mama very happy :)

Day 3 - Wednesday - Breakfast & Workout

Life is about to change here. My husband was more or less forced into taking a night shift position with his company. He went in at midnight last night and will be home at 2:30 this afternoon. Then next week he'll be working 9pm to 6am. I haven't been able to work out how that will affect our eating. It shouldn't affect it at all. But he didn't take any of the pre-planned menu foods with him today. Also, he wasn't here for breakfast, so I didn't have to get up early. Hooray!

The Menu:

-egg foo yung (omelet made with carrots, cabbage, scallions, mushrooms, red peppers, chicken, and egg beaters)
-1 orange
-1 slice sprouted 7-grain toast with spray butter
-8 oz. 1% milk

My Response:

New to me foods: omelets in general; mushrooms specifically


I was apprehensive about the omelet. Seemed like a really unusual combination. It was surprisingly good. My only complaint was that I didn't put any salt in it, and it could have used just a touch. I have never been a fan of oranges, but I'll eat them.

His Response:


---

The Kids' Response:


---

The Workout:

Today's cardio was 24 minutes (+2 from yesterday), plus a series of 5 mobility exercises (1 minute each, 2 sets). I had to use the elliptical again. It's growing on me. But I have a woman who wants to buy the elliptical, so I'll have to find the treadmill key soon.  The mobility exercises were not a joke today. Ugh. Planks. Planks are detestable. By the end of the last one, I seriously thought I was going to vomit. But I breathed through it and feel quite worked over! I'm pretty sure I wasn't nearly as far up off the ground as this lady is.

 

Day 2 - Tuesday - Snack & Dinner

The Snack:

peanut butter and jelly (natural peanut butter and strawberry fruit spread on sprouted 7-grain bread)

This was just fine. The bread was (not surprisingly) dry, but with peanut butter and jelly on it, I liked it.



The Dinner Menu:

-1 cup turkey chili
-salad with romaine, mixed greens sprouts, cucumber, and green peppers, with a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette
-water

My Response:

new to me foods: beans in my chili

I truly expected to be bothered by the beans, but I wasn't. The flavor of the chili was excellent! The salad was boring.

His Response:

He liked it! He really liked it!

The Kids' Response:

They all had plain turkey chili, without any beans or tomatoes. They also got rice. Lucky dogs.


Got groceries for the next 2 days. $36. Hoping to stretch this stuff and make a few suitable substitutions that will use up leftover ingredients in future meals. Example. I bought a cucumber, but only need a small part of it. Looking ahead, I see I'll need a cucumber again in a couple days. I'll make this one cucumber last for both meals. Hopefully looking ahead and doing that sort of thing as much as possible will help reduce future grocery bills.

Day 2 - Tuesday - Snack & Lunch

The Snack:

-2 stalks celery
-6 T. hummus

I have eaten celery recently and just don't like it, so I subbed baby carrots. And 6 T. is a heck of a lot of hummus. I just dipped my carrots, so I don't know how much I ended up eating. The hummus was homemade, and it wasn't bad. Not my dip of choice, but I will definitely eat it again.


The Lunch Menu:

-6 pieces California brown rice sushi
-Asian pear
-8 oz. water

My Response:

new to me foods: sushi, Asian pear



I went into the sushi with an open mind. I only managed to eat 2 of them, and even that was really pushing it. I drank a LOT of water with those 2 pieces :)

To replace the sushi, I sauteed a zucchini with cooking spray, garlic salt, and pepper. And to get some protein, I had a low-fat mozzarella stick.

The pear was fine. Just an ordinary pear with a thicker skin and a funny shape :)


His Response:

He refused to even take sushi to work today. I'm not sure what he took.


The Kids' Response:

They're still getting a reprieve. I am making them "normal" foods, but trying to healthify them...

Day 2 - Tuesday - Breakfast & Workout

I got up at 5 to cook breakfast, but then I went back to bed after we ate.

The Menu:


-Banana Walnut Oatmeal
-scrambled eggs (1 whole egg + 1 egg white)
-1/2 cup strawberries (it was supposed to be blueberries, but the strawberries needed eaten up)
-8 oz. 1% milk

My Response:

New to me foods: none

I didn't love the oatmeal or the scrambled eggs. I prefer egg beaters, and I prefer that there are chunks in it. I also prefer cream of wheat, but wanted to give the oatmeal a fair try. It was alright.

His Response:

New to him foods: none



He seemed satisfied. Refused the milk though.

The Kids' Response:

If I make the kids do this for every meal, they're gonna starve to death. They'll eat what they want for breakfast and lunch, but they'll eat what we eat for dinner.


The Workout:

Today's cardio was 22 minutes (+2 from yesterday), plus a series of 5 mobility exercises (1 minute each, 2 sets). I want to use the treadmill but still can't find the key, so I had to use the elliptical again. Apparently training for and completing a triathlon 2 years ago has made the elliptical more bearable. The last time I used it was probably at least 5 years ago, and it was hateful. I couldn't do more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time. Now it's just mind over matter. If I can complete a triathlon, I can do 22 minutes on an elliptical. I listen to music and I don't let myself look at the time until after a whole song is over. It felt like it went pretty quickly today. The mobility exercises were still not worthy of discussion.

Day 1 - Monday - Snack & Dinner

The Snack:

hard boiled eggs with a creamy hummus filling - this did NOT happen. I made them last night and the 2 youngest kids each had some (no one else did). In the night and this morning, the 2 youngest kids vomited several times (no one else did). Pretty sure there's a connection there, so I tossed all the eggs. I had a string cheese instead.


The Dinner Menu:

-5 oz. grilled chicken breast
-8 asparagus spears
-1 cup of grape tomatoes with 1 T. balsamic vinegar and 1 T. chopped fresh basil

My Response:

new to me foods: none!

I sauteed the asparagus in a pan with some cooking spray. I sprinkled it with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and added just enough water to sort of steam them without them sticking to the pan. We had some leftover grilled chicken in the refrigerator, so I sliced it thinly. Once the asparagus was mostly done, I added the chicken and stirred it together until it was all heated up. It had a good flavor, but I'll use fresh chicken next time. It was pretty dry.


The tomatoes... My goodness, 1 cup of tomatoes is a lot of tomatoes. I had previously had balsamic vinegar on a regular salad and didn't care for the super-strong flavor. I mis-read this evening's meal and thought it said balsamic vinaigrette. I found a vinaigrette recipe online, made it, and poured it over the tomatoes before I realized it was just supposed to be plain balsamic vinegar. Oops. Like so many other things, it was okay. I would eat it if someone offered it to me, but I won't be craving it :)

Missing starches :(


His Response:

He ate it, but he didn't finish all his tomatoes. And when he finished, he looked around longingly, wishing for potatoes. That is going to be one of the hardest hurdles for him. He likes his potatoes.

The Kids' Response:

#1 (12) - away at camp

#2 (9) - had leftover grilled sausage, instant mashed potatoes, and sugar-free applesauce (total fail)
#3 (5) - picked at some leftover ham, instant mashed potatoes, and a bowl of peach slices
#4 (3) - had leftover grilled sausage, instant mashed potatoes, and sugar-free applesauce (total fail)


Tomorrow is going to be a real challenge. My husband already refuses to eat the planned lunch, so I told him that was okay but that he should try hard to make good food choices. Time will tell what he chooses.

Day 1 - Monday - Snack & Lunch

The Snack:

low-fat string cheese and an apple. Easy. Normal. No complaints.

The Lunch Menu:

-low-fat deli turkey on a whole wheat tortilla, with tomato slices, mixed green sprouts, and dijon mustard
-6 baby carrots
-1 cup jicama sticks

My Response:

new to me foods: sprouts and jicama sticks

The wrap had great potential. I did use too much mustard, which overpowered the whole thing and made it borderline unpleasant. I really didn't notice the sprouts (maybe because I was distracted by the mustard?), and I would be willing to try them again. Unfortunately, today is the "Use By" date on the package. I wonder how long they are still good past that date...

The carrots were fine. I prefer regular carrots cut into strips, but the convenience of baby carrots can't be beat.

Jicama... We got our jicama in Indianapolis. Yes, hours and hours away from home. I don't have much to say about it. It was different. I didn't object to it. Again, I wouldn't rush out to get another, but I would politely eat it if it was offered to me or if the book says to eat it again.

His Response:

He walked in the door and said, "I'm starving! What's for dinner?" We just discussed it and decided that because he has a very active job, he should be able to have an extra something with each meal. The menus in this book average about 1500 calories per day, but we're going to bump him to around 1800. That should be enough for an extra yogurt or a banana or a handful of nuts with each meal.

The Kids' Response:

#1 (12) - away at camp

#2 (9) - asked for a ham sandwich on wheat bread, which I made because it was similar enough to the planned meal.  Took a bite of the jicama, smacked his lips, and said, "I've tasted this before. It's so familiar! What IS this???? ....... oh! yes! It tastes just like grass!"  hahaha. He finished the jicama stick and had a carrot too.

#3 (5) - still sick - she's been sleeping ALL day.

#4 (3) - had a little bit of juice and has also been napping much of the day.

Day 1 - Monday - Breakfast & Workout

My Starting Weight: 175
My Husband's Starting Weight: ??

I was surprised by my weight. I just weighed myself 2 or 3 weeks ago, and I was 165. I'm glad I've caught this now, so I can start to reverse it!


As promised, I got up at 5 to cook breakfast. I had done most of today's food prep last night, which is good, because I don't think clearly at 5 am :)

The Menu:


-Breakfast Sandwich (whole grain english muffin, low-fat cheddar, Canadian bacon, 2 egg whites)
-3/4 cup blueberries
-8 oz. 1% milk
-8 oz. water

My Response:

New to me foods: egg whites (I usually eat the yolks and leave the whites behind), blueberries

I mostly enjoyed the sandwich. Couldn't really taste the cheese, so I felt like that was a waste of calories. The egg whites were okay. I didn't object to them like I thought I would. Same with the blueberries. They were just okay. Not something I would run out to pick and eat.

His Response:

New to him foods: none

He seemed to enjoy the sandwich. I asked if he missed the yolks, and he said no. He has always enjoyed blueberries, but not necessarily in a bowl by themselves. He ate most of them. He refused the milk.

The Kids' Response:

#1 (12) - she is away at camp this week

#2 (9) - he tried one bite of the sandwich and (with my permission), took the egg whites off and ate half of his sandwich. He's not a big eater, so I'm not surprised. Tried one blueberry and didn't like it. Didn't drink the milk but had some orange juice.

#3 (5) - she has vomited several times this morning and will probably not each much today. Didn't even touch her breakfast, but had a small amount of orange juice.

#4 (almost 4) - He also vomited sometime in the night. I made the mistake of telling them it must have been the hard-boiled egg they ate last night (They were the only 2 to eat it. They were the only 2 to vomit. Logical conclusion.) He refused all of his breakfast, on the grounds that "eggs make me frow up." Requested Silk instead of milk.


The Workout:

Because this is a jump-start program, there is exercise 6 days a week. Today's cardio was 20 minutes, plus a series of 5 mobility exercises (1 minute each, 2 sets). I intended to use the treadmill but can't find the key anywhere, so I had to use the elliptical, which I hate. But I got through it and I'm glad I did. The mobility exercises were not at all worthy of discussion. I'm sure they will get more interesting as time goes on. Looking ahead, it seems like they mix those exercises up pretty nicely.

The Beginning

I bought The Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start cookbook at a yard sale the other day, thinking I could get a few new ideas out of it. I ended up reading it cover to cover in just a few hours. What an inspiring book! And they have a 30-day plan laid out, from food and snacks to exercise and rest days. I've decided to give it a go, and somehow managed to talk my husband into it. He leaves for work at 5:30am, so in order to ensure that he actually takes the foods he is supposed to take for snacks and lunches, I have promised him that I will get up with him at 5:00. I'm NOT a morning person, usually sleeping until 8:30 or 9, but this is important to me, and it's only for 30 days... In exchange for my getting up at the crack of dawn with him, I have asked him to keep a very open mind and be willing to at least TRY all the new foods that will be introduced to us during this next 30 days. He seems lukewarm about that, so we'll see....

Fortunately, we have no big social events on our calendar over the next 30 days, except for my husband's birthday toward the end of July. We have already decided we are not going to stick to this project on that day. And boy was I ever glad when I counted ahead to see what we would be missing. Salad Nicoise?! Gross.

I think it is going to be a very difficult 30 days, because none of us are very adventurous eaters. I am going to require the kids (ages almost-12, 9, 5, and almost-4) to taste at least 1 bite of each new food. I am not going to require them to eat it if they don't like it. I am willing to make them a more kid-friendly (but still healthy) alternative, IF they have tried one bit and don't like it.

It's going to be important to keep an open mind and a short-term outlook. If I am not enjoying what is on my plate, all I have to remember is that it's not the last meal I will ever eat (Lord willing), and that there's a tasty snack coming up in just a couple hours. Hopefully that's enough.

I'll be blogging my responses throughout the day, but will probably save them and post each evening. I'll be weighing in every Monday morning.

I'm nervous about this, because it is going to be very expensive, and I hate to spend that amount of money on food only to find out that none of us likes it and it ends up being wasted. But again. It's only 30 days. We can do anything for 30 days, right?

We're about to find out.